"So... you're the... um... so-called administrator of the Magic Resonance Library?" Yulian took a few steps closer.
After a long while, the black cat finally spoke, its voice low and lazy, with a hint of a French accent (probably to match Yulian's):
"You can call me Murphy—not the Murphy from 'Murphy's Law,' but Muff. Though you do have a habit of being unlucky. I'm the head librarian of this library, its librarian, its cataloguer, its lending officer, and... a faithful recorder of your inner sense of shame."
"What? What's that last part supposed to mean?"
"It means I can record any questions you have and find the answers for you." The cat's voice remained flat.
"Any questions?" Yulian asked hesitantly.
GOOGLE SEARCH TWKAN
"Remember! This is the Magic Resonance Library. It's here to help you improve your magic. I have no interest whatsoever in your private life if it has nothing to do with magic—for example, your relationship with that Leah in your memories, or how you used to sneak a peek at the neighbor girl bathing when you were a child. I have no interest in any of that, and..."
"Stop, stop!" Yulian cried. "You said you had no interest, so how do you know so much?"
When the black cat finally shut up, Yulian breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. "So what exactly is this place for?"
Murphy leaped down from the bookshelf and landed lightly. As it walked, it explained, "Simply put, whenever you truly understand a magical concept—whether through your own brains, sheer luck, or getting scolded by a teacher—this place automatically creates a book."
Murphy moved with the grace of a model. "These books provide detailed answers to the questions you care about. They're echoes of your magic, and footprints of your growth."
"Great! So if I read a book, I'll be able to do magic I couldn't do before?" Yulian asked excitedly. "Then let's start with... a book on the Patronus Charm." What kind of transmigrator didn't know that one?
"Or maybe one on Legilimency. Don't all transmigrators practice that first, in case they run into an unreasonable object like the Sorting Hat or some perverted old geezer like Dumbledore snooping through their thoughts?"
The cat glanced back at him, a look of disdain flashing in its amber eyes, as if to say, "Tch. What do you have that anyone would want to snoop around for?"
"The library only collects things you're capable of learning. It can speed up your learning and make it more effective. For example, you can master the same Levitation Charm by practicing over and over without the library, but with guidance from a book, you'll understand it faster and get better results. You'll be able to levitate larger things, control them more precisely, and so on."
"If you just try to memorize things by rote or expect to get something for nothing, the books will be blank. And..." Its voice lowered. "The more important the secret, the harder the book is to open. Like the book behind that door..."
Yulian looked up. Sure enough, at the very back of the library stood a tightly shut bronze door.
"Could that be Dark Magic?" Yulian asked, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"What, you think Dark Magic is just advanced magic?"
"Then what is it, exactly?" Though Murphy's scornful gaze annoyed him, Yulian still bowed and scraped, mindful that he was at the cat's mercy.
"Don't be in a hurry. You're not ready to learn about it yet." Murphy lay down and yawned, speaking lazily.
"So there aren't any books yet. Am I just supposed to sit around and wait?"
Murphy rolled its eyes at him. "Fine. Young wizards usually start with the Levitation Charm, so I'll let you have a look at this book first."
As soon as it finished speaking, a book appeared out of thin air on the shelf behind Murphy. Its spine glowed faintly blue.
"Great!" Yulian hurriedly took the book from the shelf—Why Feathers Always Want to Hit Your Face.
"Are you sure this is a book about practicing the Levitation Charm?"
"Absolutely, positively, without a doubt."
The book really did help Yulian a great deal. It not only pointed out the key points of practicing the Levitation Charm, but was also tailored specifically to his needs.
After that, Alphard, who believed his grandson was a magical prodigy, accelerated Yulian's lessons even further.
That night, pine logs burned in the fireplace in the Chamber of Secrets. The firelight stretched the two men's shadows long, making the shadows beside the fireplace seem especially dark—as deep as if they could swallow the candlelight.
Perhaps it was just Yulian's imagination, but he could have sworn something was moving in that darkness, like a sleeping giant slowly rolling over.
Unlike usual, Alphard didn't take out a book of basic spells. Instead, he walked over to the oak liquor cabinet and pressed lightly beneath the third drawer.
With a soft click, a hidden compartment sprang open, revealing a leather-bound notebook. Its cover bore no words, only a raised Black Family Crest: a winged Gryphon, its eyes shining as if it might leap right out of the leather at any moment.
"What I'm going to teach you today isn't something they cover in class at Hogwarts." The old man's voice was low and grave, as if he were recounting a long-buried family secret. "These are my notes from when I was young and learning these spells. You can use them as a reference."
Alphard opened the notebook. The yellowed pages were covered in annotations in old-fashioned cursive English, with complicated wand movements sketched beside them. Some sections even had warnings in red ink: "Prone to backfiring here" and "Do not cast more than three times in a row."
"The first is the Shadow Deflection Charm, a Dark Magic derivative of a spell the Ministry of Magic classifies as one of the Unforgivable Curses—'Obscurum Flecto.' I'll demonstrate it. Take the notebook first."
At Alphard's words, Yulian took the notebook. The instant his fingertips touched the leather, a buzzing sound rang through his mind—
"Ding! High-concentration Dark Magic knowledge source detected. New book generated: An Introduction to the Shadow Deflection Charm: How to Elegantly Bounce Curses Back at Your Enemies Without Getting Caught by the Ministry of Magic."
In his mental space, the almost-empty Magic Resonance Library had quietly lit up. A brand-new book slowly appeared on the shelf, its cover black as night and its gilded title gleaming.
Yulian's breath caught slightly. He knew perfectly well what Dark Magic meant.
Like all transmigrators, Yulian wasn't opposed to Dark Magic. In fact, he was rather pleased about it and hoped there'd be plenty more. Ideally, he'd start out already an expert in the Unforgivable Curses, just like in the fanfics.
Otherwise, how was he supposed to take on Voldemort one-on-one later? That was perfectly reasonable for a transmigrator, right?
Seeing the odd look on Yulian's face, the old man explained, "Don't be afraid, child. Magic itself has no good or evil. What matters is the caster's intent."
"I'm not afraid." Yulian raised his head, his eyes shining. "I just thought pure-blood families started teaching children with the Three Unforgivable Curses."
Alphard's mouth twitched. "Hm? I didn't think you'd see it that way."
He rubbed his temples, as if trying to remember whether he'd been that chuunibyou as a boy.
"Child, you need to understand: even without making a Horcrux, using Unforgivable Curses makes a person's soul grow damaged and ugly—like a piece of cheese riddled with worms, whole on the outside but rotten within."
"Horcrux? What's a Horcrux? How do you make one?" Yulian blurted out, his eyes full of curiosity and just a little foolish eagerness.
Before you continue